


Pulling Weeds And Other Ninja Things

by sleepless_gremlin



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Donatello Finds A New Hobbie, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gardening, Gen, Good Parent Splinter (TMNT), donnie get out of your lab 2k20, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-02-22 22:54:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23768440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepless_gremlin/pseuds/sleepless_gremlin
Summary: Donatello did not expect to be covered in leaves and grime at 8:48 AM on a Thursday. Then again, he usually never expected their little misadventures, so he supposed he would just have to deal with it.---AKA, Donnie finally finds a hobby outside of the lab.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 45





	Pulling Weeds And Other Ninja Things

Donatello did not expect to be covered in leaves and grime at 8:48 AM on a Thursday. Then again, he usually never expected their little misadventures, so he supposed he would just have to deal with it.

When Splinter had called them in for training exactly thirty-one minutes after he woke up, Donnie had pranced into the dojo, happy little brain prepared for nothing other than a few katas and some light sparring. Unfortunately for his (favorite) organ, they would be doing nothing of the sort.

Had he been a little more sleep deprived, the genius would have guessed that they'd be using the row of neatly-stacked gardening tools as weapons. Luckily for him, the bags of soil and fertilizer tipped off his more-awake brain.

Looking around the room it seemed that his brothers joined him in his confusion. And thank god for that - at least this day wasn't going to go _completely_ off the rails. On the other hand, it meant that they had absolutely no clue what was going on, and he'd have to figure it out and relay it to them. Just one of the many perks of being the resident genius. 

It wasn't _all_ bad, though. He did like how his brothers' faces lit up when he showed them a particularly interesting invention, or their small look of relief when he explained something that was confusing them. It was... nice. It was really nice. 

Movement around him snapped him out of his thoughts, and he quickly kneeled as Splinter entered. His tail swished on the tatami mats, making a soft rustling sound. Donnie wondered if that was comfortable. 

One quick explanation of the day's plans later, and he was at square 1.57. Not quite where he was before, but nowhere near where he hoped he'd be. Why were they doing _gardening?_ There were a plethora of more-productive things that they could be doing, none of which consisted of groveling in the dirt. Besides, judging by the appearance of the tree, it would be healthy regardless of how many weeds were growing in the small square of soil. Voicing these concerns would be counter-productive, however, so he took a deep breath in and gripped the first plant. 

It was disgusting. While technically not slimy, there was no other word that came to mind that could describe the feeling. The small green sprout was damp from the recent rain, and the dirt stuck to it like duct tape. Judging by the loud groans and squeals, his brothers were facing the same problem. 

"This is disgusting! With a capital-d and everything!" Mikey whined, fervently shaking his hands to dispel the dirt. In a horrible turn of events for his life, a small glob landed on Raph. 

The room went silent as they all turned to stare. The only sound was a loud gulp from Mikey, and the rustling of his nervous hands against the tatami mats. 

"You little booger. Come here!" Raph yelled, a large grin on his face as he chased Mikey around the dojo. "I'll teach you to throw dirt on me!" 

Mikey squealed in excitement and jumped over the bags of fertilizer, knocking over the row of tools as he struggled to get away from his brother. "Stop it! Stop!" he laughed wildly, running out of breath "We're gonna get in trouble-!" 

Donnie watched both of them fool around like the clowns they were for a minute before returning to his task. His younger brother was correct - they were going to have their tails handed to them if they were caught. Leo noticed this as well, and silently signaled for the more rambunctious turtles to quiet down and get back to work. 

"You two are no better than two cocaine-addicted lab rats," the genius sighed, chuckling at the glares he received. "I'm not wrong." 

"Alright, alright, whatever," Raph grumbled. He yanked out a particularly large weed, face lighting up. 

While his three brothers were fawning over the long weed, Donnie went back to his section of the square. If he worked diligently enough, he could be done in fifteen minutes, leaving twenty-one until someone started making lunch. Which, of course, left enough time for some light reading. 

Perfect. 

Reaching back into the soil wasn't as bad as before. It was possible that he had grown used to it already, but more likely that the area had dried while he had been preoccupied. Determining that it was impossible to know, Donnie merely shrugged and tugged on the weed, pulling out a small green shoot. 

It was a pretty green, lighter and richer than his skin. However, it was now dying, and needed to be discarded into the growing pile of other weeds. 

He quickly threw it over his shoulder, and grabbed onto another weed to pull. The cycle continued, and his small section slowly became clear. In all honesty, he liked the satisfaction that came with that fact - how the once-cluttered area changed so drastically with only a few minutes of effort. 

Wiping his hands on his thighs, he noticed how the dirt felt gritty and moist against his skin. The small particles stuck to him, dark black contrasting nicely with the olive green of his hands. 

Thinking about such mundane things while there was a task at hand was stupid, he knew that, but there was something calming about gardening. It quieted his mind for a moment, and allowed him to focus on the smaller things. 

Splinter _had_ said that he needed to stay out of his own head and grounded in reality more often, after all. Was it possible that he was trying to teach that again through this impromptu gardening session? Unfortunately, he never got his answer. A sharp look from Leo sent him back to yanking out weeds, and he filed away the thought for another time. 

Ten minutes later, and the area was cleared out completely. He sat back on his hands, watching as Mikey and Raph pulled out their last few bits of green. Leo had been done for a few minutes now - he didn't pause to wrestle or think about something as stupid as the dirt on his hands. Shaking his head, Donnie brushed his hands together, wiping as much dirt as he could off. 

Mikey's voice cut through the easy silence, "What do we do now?" He was covered in dirt from head-to-toe, bits of organic material stuck everywhere from his mask to large clumps on his hands and arms. "Sensei didn't tell us to do anything else, did he?" 

The question was a normalcy for his brother, but that didn't stop Donnie from rolling his eyes all the same. Unfortunately, the gardening didn't seem to have the same calming effect on Michelangelo that it did on him, and he was fidgeting rapidly in anticipation for the next activity. 

"After we add a thin layer of fertilizer to the soil, we should be done." He nodded along with Leo's words, patting the bags of fertilizer gently, almost as if making sure they were still there. "Then, we may start lunch." 

Groaning, the youngest nodded and roughly grabbed a bag by the corners. He swung around and tossed it onto the ground near his section, narrowly missing Raph. "This is dumb." 

"It will only take you a couple of minutes, Mikey," Leo soothed, grabbing his own bag. 

In two minutes, all four brothers were working once again. They fell back into an easy silence, only being broken by occasional quips of "thin, Mikey!" and frustrated sighs. Despite that, it was peaceful. 

Thinking about it, he couldn't remember the last time everything was this calm in the lair. This was nice, too. 

Sunlight shone through the skylight, bathing the room in a soft and comforting light. It warmed up the turtle, luring him into a sense of tranquility. That, combined with the repetitive motion of spreading and patting down the fertilizer, and the feel of the dirt against his skin grounded him in the moment. He was too focused on his task to really think of anything more complex, yet could let his mind wander to simpler topics without making an error. It was quiet without being boring. Which was... Actually, just what he needed. 

A little while passed until he was done, and he wiped his hands together again. His brothers were just finishing up as well, and chatted animatedly as they left to go wash their hands and prepare lunch. The genius stayed behind, however, just basking in the golden sunshine and the smell of wet dirt. 

Maybe it wasn't as bad as he had initially thought. 

Months later, he had accumulated a small collection of various small plants, kept in his lab under the newly-added skylight. If Splinter noticed the addition when he walked into the lab to get his son to go to bed, he gave nothing but a knowing look and a small smile. Donatello figured he was okay with one of Splinter's schemes working this once, if only because he was happy with the outcome as well.

**Author's Note:**

> i kinda,,, want to do another part to this but uhhh  
> not sure how interesting plants are fkjghj


End file.
